


The Perils of RPF

by keerawa



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Gen, Humor, RPF, Season/Series 03, Watson's Woes July Writing Prompts 2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-26
Updated: 2015-07-26
Packaged: 2018-04-11 05:54:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4423934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keerawa/pseuds/keerawa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock's habit of tracking back links to his website has some unintended consequences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Perils of RPF

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [](http://watsons-woes.livejournal.com/profile)[watsons_woes](http://watsons-woes.livejournal.com/) JWP 2015 Picture Prompt #25, [Fanworks Across the Ages](http://watsons-woes.livejournal.com/1404237.html). Unbeta'd.

Mary worked the late shift on Mondays, and Sherlock was busy with some project, so John was settling down in front of the tele for 'The Best of Top Gear' with a reheated risotto when his phone rang.

"John Watson speaking," John answered, rather hoping it was a telemarketer, or someone else that he could legitimately hang up on.

"Hello, this is Phillip Anderson. We used to work at the Yard together?"

John considered it for a moment, decided he'd been spending too much time with Sherlock recently, and replied courteously. "Yes, of course, what can I do for you?"

"I don't know if you're aware of this, but while Sherlock was … away, I took it upon myself to form an international association of people who believed in him and his legacy."

"The fan club? Yeah, Greg mentioned it."

"Right. Our members were passionate followers of your blog, John. And when it went so long without being updated, which we all understood, of course, some of the members started to write their own."

"Their own blogs?"

"No, their own Sherlock Holmes stories. Fictional ones. It's very common, these days. People write about actors, musicians, hockey players. It's called RPS, or RPF. Real Person Fiction."

John wondered what RPS stood for. Real Person Stories, probably. "Well that's … a bit odd, but it's fine, I suppose, as long as they're clearly marked as fiction."

"Oh, they are," Phillip assured him. "Only, you see, last week Sherlock found our archive online. He started reading the stories and commenting on them. And … you know how he would sometimes leave those nasty little comments criticizing your blog entries?"

"Mmmhmm," John said, trying not to laugh.

"Well, it turns out that was him being _kind_. At first he was only critiquing the deductions, but now he's moved on to plot, characterization, spelling and grammar. Some of his critiques are longer than the original stories," Phillip whined. "And he started off reading all the case fics, but now that he's finished them all, he's on to the PWP's!"

John wondered what a PWP might be. "How many stories are there on this archive, anyway?"

"Over 700 now," Phillip said, sounding rather proud.

"700? Jesus. I don't know what to tell you, Phillip. You know what he's like. Once things are up on the internet, they're open to the public. You could try putting in some password protection, but I doubt it would keep him out. Maybe just warn everyone that writing Sherlock Holmes stories isn't for the faint of heart, and if they want to avoid Sherlock ripping them to shreds, they'd better make those stories bloody good ones."

"Oh ... that could work," Phillip said, sounding excited. "Pitch it to the members as a challenge. Less quantity, higher quality, require betas, and see who can impress the great Sherlock Holmes. Thank you, John, you've been a great help!"

He rang off. John pulled up the browser on his phone to see if he could find this archive. The publisher he'd spoken to last week wasn't sure if there was still enough public interest in Sherlock to merit a full book, but if he could prove he already had an established fan-base, that might change her mind.


End file.
